Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud, escalating the Trump administration's campaign against political opponents through criminal referrals. Pulte sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging Cook "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud."
Cook, appointed to the Fed Board of Governors in 2022 by then-President Biden and the first Black woman to hold the role, faces scrutiny over two loans: a mortgage on a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a loan on a condominium in Atlanta. According to Pulte, both were listed as her "principal residence," a potential violation. His letter further asserts that Cook later described the Atlanta condo as a rental property in 2022, despite earlier claiming it as her primary home.
President Trump weighed in directly, posting on Truth Social: "Cook must resign, now!!!" The remarks came as his allies intensify efforts to push out members of the Federal Reserve he views as obstacles to his agenda. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump is considering firing Cook for cause, citing two sources.
Cook rejected the allegations, issuing a statement late Wednesday: "I learned from the media that FHFA Director William Pulte posted on social media that he was making a criminal referral based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve. I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet. I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts."
The accusations against Cook mirror earlier allegations lodged by the administration against Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Schiff played a central role in Trump's impeachments, while James secured a fraud judgment exceeding $500 million against Trump and his company. NBC News reported this month that Bondi appointed conservative activist Ed Martin as a "special attorney" to oversee probes of Schiff and James, with grand juries in Maryland and Virginia expected to take up the cases.
Democrats have accused Trump of selectively weaponizing mortgage fraud claims against opponents. In a letter to Martin, James' lawyer Abbe Lowell wrote: "Notably, absent from your mandate is Kenneth Paxton (Republican Attorney General of Texas). Given that the same news reports raising questions about Ms. James and Mr. Schiff have reported that, somehow, Mr. Paxton has three different properties that he claims to be his 'primary residence,' it seems to indicate your title ought really be, 'Special Assistant for Mortgage Fraud [Alleged Against Democrats Adverse to President Trump].'"
Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, said the Cook case illustrated an attempt by Trump to interfere with central bank independence. "I've long been an advocate for holding Fed officials accountable," Warren said in a statement. "But anyone can see that for months now, President Trump has been scrambling for a pretext to intimidate or fire Chair Powell and Members of the Federal Reserve Board while blaming anyone but himself for how his failed economic policies are hurting Americans. The President and his Administration should not weaponize the Federal government to illegally fire independent Fed Board members."
Pulte defended the integrity of the investigations. In an interview with CNBC, he said: "We will look at any allegation of mortgage fraud. And we do not care whether you're a Republican, a Democrat. We do not care whether you're wealthy. We don't care whether you're a prosecutor. We don't care whether you're a Fed governor, if you commit mortgage fraud and you present an existential threat to the Federal Home Loan Banks, Fannie or Freddie, we are going to prosecute it, period."
